James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after violinists on the international stage. Gifted with a rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism and unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favourite guest of many of the world’s most respected conductors including Ashkenazy, Alsop, Fischer, Noseda, and more. Ehnes’s long list of orchestras includes, among others, the Boston, Chicago, London, and Vienna Symphony Orchestras, the Los Angeles, New York and Munich Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Philharmonia and DSO Berlin orchestras. Recent orchestral highlights include the MET Orchestra at Carnegie Hall with Noseda, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig with Shelley, as well as his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Lincoln Center in spring 2019.  Alongside his concerto work, James Ehnes maintains a busy recital schedule. He performs regularly at the Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Ravinia, the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg and Verbier Festival. In 2018 he undertook a recital tour to the Far East, including performances in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. As part of the Beethoven celebrations, Ehnes has been invited to perform the complete cycle of Beethoven Sonatas at the Wigmore Hall throughout 2019/20.  As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with leading artists such as Andsnes, Capucon, Lortie, Lugansky, Ma, and Wang. In 2010, he established the Ehnes Quartet, with whom he has performed throughout Europe. Ehnes is the Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society. He has an extensive discography and has won many awards for his recordings, including a Grammy Awards, a Gramophone Award and a JUNO award. Born in Canada in 1971, Ehnes began his violin studies at the age of five, aged nine he became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin, and aged 13 he made his orchestra debut with L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Ehnes won the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation from The Juilliard School in 1997. He was awarded the 2017 Royal Philharmonic Society Award in the Instrumentalist category. James Ehnes plays the “Marsick” Stradivarius of 1715. This is his first appearance with the Israel Philharmonic.

Photo: B Ealovega